Special PODCAST:
This talk explores ways you can increase your capacity for happiness.
You’ll learn the primary blocks to happiness, two ways happiness manifests, some suggestions for a more happy life and some ruminations on the karma of a happy thought.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
By chance I recently found myself surrounded by a Mob of Grackles.
Here’s a short little video of their visit. A brief meditation on impermanence.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores ways you can stay more present (and sane) in your heart during this election cycle.
You’ll learn how 'the shadow' in your psyche expresses itself because of unmet needs and how, as we evolve as a species, you can meet the shadow with empathy, befriend that which you have declared the enemy, and learn to look toward the good.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Saturday, October 29 9:30 - 4:00 St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bethesda
Created in 1970 by the teacher, Osho, Dynamic Meditation is a powerful method of releasing deep-seated tension and cultivating a state prime for meditation.
He developed this approach to help people who carry a lot of stress and tension move from the 'gross to the subtle' to help access greater stillness of mind and non-ordinary states.
I'll be offering a variation consisting of six phases:
Phase 1: Energetic movement Phase 2: Free flow movement Phase 3: Sounding and Breath Phase 4: Sitting meditation Phase 5: Lying down, deep relaxation Phase 6: Journaling
Dynamic Meditation is safe and deeply engaging.
The afternoon will be more classical in nature with periods of sitting and lying down meditation.
Much of the day will be in silence to support your practice.
No prior experience in yoga or meditation required. Just come with an open mind.
This is truly one of my favorite retreats to lead.
You'll release a lot of tension and access deep states of relaxation, all in the company of a warm and supportive community.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the essential practices that develop your capacity to see clearly.
You’ll learn the fundamental importance of concentration and willful effort, how you can cultivate your capacity for non-judging awareness and the conditions that support your ability to 'accept what is and let it be.'
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how, once you know what you want, how to sustain focus on your goals. You're also invited to take on a practice for thirty days of 'one observation and one restraint.'
You'll learn the importance of knowing what is most important, how to discern the best practices to help you get there, how to sustain attention and how to course correct along the way.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
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please signup here.
This month Tara and I spent much of the month on a working sabbatical at the ancestral Brach home on Cape Cod.
Tara is working on a book proposal. I was grinding on some writing projects and taking a deep dive into photography projects.
Unstructured space has advantages and disadvantages. I love being able to wake up naturally and spontaneously go for walks and swim when it "feels right."
I struggled, though, when it came time to strap myself in for serious writing. You may be familiar with the term, 'monkey mind', which describes the essential scattered quality of the mind. I had monkey mind on caffeine. With all excuses removed, I had to churn and burn in the creative process.
I finally hit my stride and got more comfortable locking myself in for the grunt work but making sure I had time to play. I realized eventually it all comes down to balance, as in all things. Not too tight, not too loose.
I'm excited about the creative process and what is coming forth.
I hope your life is both in balance and in full expression.
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
YLM8 Daylong Retreat Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
YLM8 Evening Session Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Daylong Retreat Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
IMCW Fall Retreat (7 days) Learn More
It’s time to cycle off coffee again.
I’m hooked. It’s among the first things I think of when I wake up. I look forward to the upsurge in clarity and pay a price for it later in the day. I don’t like being that dependent on a substance.
To counter balance something I want to let go of, I’ve got something I want to do. I have rehab exercises for some damage I did to my foot I know they are good for me. But I never seem to get to them. I’m perpetually feeling guilty about that.
It’s perfect timing for One Observation / One Restraint!
If you're looking to reboot, kickstart a new habit or make a change, this is a great practice. Perhaps you’d like to join me this month.
The rules for One Observation / One Restraint are simple: 1. Choose one activity you intend to do every day for thirty days.
2. Choose one activity you intend to refrain from every day for thirty days.
3. Get a calendar and mark each day you complete. Your goal is to keep the visual chain going.
Fall is a perfect time to refresh your focus. If you’d like to join me, you can listen to the Podcast here, and you can download a Handout here and a Calendar here.
Here’s what I’m committing to: My observation: 20 minutes of these rehab exercises each day. My restraint: No coffee. Tea is OK, but no java for 30 days.
Some additional tips:
1. Keep it simple. One observation / One restraint
2. Try the Seinfeld Method. Put a calendar in a visible location and mark each day when you complete it. You keep the visual chain going. (Link to a calendar below.)
3. Get a practice partner. Very important! You’ll have ups and downs and you’ll receive incalculable benefits from someone there who is not only your cheerleader, but holds you accountable.
I will be offering a talk at the beginning of the month on my podcast (link) if you’d like some inspiration. And if you’re coming to Monday night at UUCA, we’ll have some support groups after class.
Blogpost here. Podcast here. Handout here. Calendar here.
Water. Heat. Bugs.
Sometimes sunsets are drab, sometimes they are like this.
"They are not sunsets," my uncle used to say. "They are earth-turns."
Cormorants stop by on migration.
A full moon set.
The next day. A super-low tide.
An untouched photo with real-life color.
The Zen of sunset.
I’ve been sittin’ on the dock on the bay. OK, not a dock, but on the bay. I love the feeling of sitting under a big sky with an uninterrupted horizon. When perception gets so big, a natural sense of effortlessness arises. I put together a little meditation with some video clips you might enjoy. This is a meditation that emphasizes your capacity to let it be.
I’ve got a few daylong retreats coming up in the near future.
Saturday, October 29 Bethesda, MD
Created in 1970 by the teacher, Osho, Dynamic Meditation is a powerful method of releasing deep-seated tensions and cultivating a state prime for meditation. I offer a variation of the technique consisting of five phases:
Phase 1: Energetic movement
Phase 2: Free flow movement
Phase 3: Chanting
Phase 4: Sitting meditation
Phase 5: Deep relaxation
Dynamic Meditation is safe, fun and deeply engaging. No prior experience in yoga or meditation required. The afternoon session is more classical, with both seated and lying down meditations.
Click the Banner to Learn More
Saturday, December 3
Bethesda, MD
"What is the most important question in your life right now? Discover that, and your journey begins."
The right questions can help you change your perspective, make important decisions and solve problems and most importantly, point your attention toward your true nature.
Click the Banner to Learn More
Right livelihood is when what you do aligns with your core values. Lise Metzger has a passion for photography, writing and agriculture. She does beautiful profiles of ‘grounded women’ who feel called to the farming lifestyle. I highly recommend you check out her images and prose.
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iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Is this a good time in your life to make a commitment to practice? If so, read on.
You'll select 1 observance and 1 restraint. Choose practices you sense will enliven you in some way. Make them specific and measurable.
It can be challenging to keep your practices vibrant. Here are two ways that might support you:
Print out a monthly calendar. Put a big RED "X" for each day you practice. (You might use a different color for the observance and restraint.) Keep the calendar where you can see it. The idea is to keep the visual chain going. Try doing with pen and paper. Go analog!
Find someone who might like to be an ally for your practice. Determine what kind of support you’d like and might offer to your partner. Some Options: * Send a daily or weekly email about your practice and your experience. This can be as simple a putting the information in the subject line. Your partner doesn't have to respond. But they notice. *Schedule a series of calls or meetings with your partner to share observations and challenges.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how you can jumpstart your practice.
You’ll learn about the call to practice, where to start, what happens when you practice and all about the power of taking on a discipline for 30 days focusing on one ‘observance’ and one ‘restraint.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how generosity can not only free up your heart, but can reveal your true nature.
You’ll learn how you create a false sense of a separate self and how to recognize and heal that sense of separation by cultivating altruism as a spiritual practice.
Subscribe to Jonathan's podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jonathan-foust/id455422434?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
To be reminded of change all I have to do is wander around outside.
Larger flocks of geese just started moving through. It’s been hot and the water is quite warm now, supporting moss, mold, algae and everything that feeds on them.
Mornings are filled with clouds of bugs that ramp up their activity this time of year as if they know their time is limited. Spiders are weaving more and more webs.
A fisherman I often see at sunrise told me he hung out with some baby river otters last week.
I hope, in the midst of all that is changing around you, you are finding some peace and presence.
YLM8 Evening Session Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
The Energy Intensive: Yoga, Meditation and Breathwork at Kripalu Center Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
YLM8 Daylong Retreat Learn More
The damn hood on my Honda Element wouldn't close.
I had just inflated my Paddleboard with a 12-volt pump. I hook up the cables to the battery terminals for power.
I usually just drop the open hood and it clicks into place. But this time it was different.
I dropped it again. No familiar click.
I dropped it and pushed down. No luck.
Irritated now, I dropped it and put some weight behind it. No way.
Angry now, I tried again. I smashed the hood down. Nothing.
Hmm. Maybe something was in the way?
I found the culprit. My iPhone!
Dread turned to relief as the iPhone case saved it from being destroyed.
When things don’t go our way, we have some pretty predictable reactions. They usually fall into these categories:
* Aversion: Anger, judgement and blame * Craving: Planning, Fantasy and mental disassociation * Worry: Anxiety, Restlessness * Sloth and Torpor: Losing energy * Doubt: Self-Judgement and the ruthless critic
In this case, I defaulted to anger.
All of this could have been averted with a little more awareness.
When something challenging arises, the RAIN acronym comes in handy.
(R) Recognize what’s happening (A) Allow it if you can (I) Investigate and be intimate with what’s happening (N) Nourish what is there with awareness and compassion
This month I’ve given a bunch of talks on "Strategies." While the RAIN acronym lies at the heart of working with challenges, I’ve got other tips there as well.
Strategies for Transforming Your Relationship with Physical Pain
Strategies for Transforming Your Relationship with Anger
Strategies for Transforming Your Relationship with Addiction
I hope you find these helpful. Itunes podcast: Listen Here Youtube: Watch Here
Water. Heat. Bugs.
A gang of cormorants at morning meditation.
Swallows take a short break from feasting on clouds of bugs.
The Stockbridge Bowl, pre-morning swim.
A storm brewing on the Potomac.
Summer foliage on the river.
Geese on the move.
One of thousands of webs in the meadow.
This short video invites you into slow, full deep breathing with images from the Potomac from this last month.
If youre looking for a three-day weekend intensive dedicated to slowing down, de-stressing and enlivening your practice, you might like to join me and my co-leader Shobhan Richard Faulds at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA.
This weekend is highly experiential, mostly in silence and designed to raise and stabilize energy and awareness.
The program culminates with a morning session of powerful breathwork using a technique that for many, provides deep release and insights. For more information and to register.
In a recent talk on Strategies for Changing Your Relationship with Anxiety, I shared a quick technique for moving from obsessing thinking to the here and now.
It only takes a few minutes and can be quite dramatic.
To listen, check this out: Itunes podcast: Listen Here Youtube: Watch here The technique:
1. Take in a long slow deep breath and for a moment, hold the breath. Exhale slowly.
2. Again, take a long slow deep breath and for a moment, hold the breath and exhale slowly.
3. Let your eyes open and take in the three distinct separate images. Notice the color, shape, quality of light and texture.
4. Close your eyes.
5. Open your attention to sounds. Notice three distinct separate sources of sound.
6. Turn your attention to feeling. Notice three distinct separate sources of sensation.
7. Notice what may have shifted in this exercise.
I find this practice to be deceptively simple. Consciously shifting awareness away from thought to direct experience can sometimes dramatically help you move out of strong, pervasive and challenging mental states.
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iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
